Bought a faulty item, messed up the return (didn't get a tracking number) can't even leave feedback

[mattldsx]

Just looking for some advice.

I bought an item, it turned up completely DOA. I contacted the seller and I had to return the item at my own expense. Alright, did that, but I messed up - I didn't get a tracking number. So of course the seller claims they never recieved the item back and I've got no proof against them. Not very happy about that but at least I can leave negative feedback to warn others. NOPE, eBay removed my feedback.

Is that it? I feel completely ripped off by the seller and angry with eBay for not even allowing me to leave feedback. Are there any other avenues I could pursue this through?

[kopenhagen5]

Your neg is still there.

[fixnwear]

mattldsx, 

Learn from your mistake - re posting back anything without tracking.

Also, if it was dead - why didn't you open a dispute - that way seller would have paid for the ret. postage.

And lastly - don't worry about f/back - you wouldn't be warning anyone - as no one reads them, or if they do read them they don't take any notice of it. F/backs like that are only serving a purpose of making the agrieved buyers feel a bit better.

If they really worked and did their job of "warning others" - that seller would't sell anything to anyone ever again as all of us would be considered dully warned and stay away from him!

[springyzone]

---

@fixnwear wrote:

mattldsx, 

Learn from your mistake - re posting back anything without tracking.

Also, if it was dead - why didn't you open a dispute - that way seller would have paid for the ret. postage.

And lastly - don't worry about f/back - you wouldn't be warning anyone - as no one reads them, or if they do read them they don't take any notice of it. F/backs like that are only serving a purpose of making the agrieved buyers feel a bit better.

If they really worked and did their job of "warning others" - that seller would't sell anything to anyone ever again as all of us would be considered dully warned and stay away from him!

---

I agree with fixwear in that the best option would have been to open a dispute and the seller would have had to pay return postage.

So often we read about how it is better to contact a seller first and I guess that is true sometimes but it depends on the circumstances & I think if one of them asked me to return something first then get my refund, I'd be going straight into an official dispute.

As you now realise, the item should have been tracked but more than that, if the item was broken in the first place, it was the seller who should have been providing return postage.

I don't think there is anything you can do about it now. All you can hope for is the parcel eventually gets to the seller & he is honest.

If you sent it to the correct address, I would be 99.9% sure it would arrive eventually so if, within a month, you don't hear back from him, I would be reasonably sure he is lying.

I've never heard of so many claims of 'parcels never received' as I have on ebay.

As for feedback-yours is still there. I do usually read feedback but in a lot of cases such as yours, if i read your feedback then the seller's feedback, I wouldn't know who to believe. Not because I think Aust post loses lots of parcels, I don't think that. But I wouldn't know for sure if the buyer had really posted anything back etc

After your post here, I believe you but just pointing out that in feedback, it is so short that other buyers can't always judge so it comes out as a sort of neutral and probably won't affect whether someone buys or not.

Mind you, if I bought then had trouble and seller asked me to return item, your feedback would then be a red flag to me to open a dispute, send with tracking etc.

[digital*ghost]

Just to clarify, when you say you didn't get a tracking number, do you mean there wasn't one, or that you didn't note it down? It looks like the item needed to be sent as a parcel, so in most cases a parcel will have a tracking number assigned. If it was a parcel purchased over the counter, then the number will be on your receipt, but if it was a pre-paid satchel you'd need to have either kept the little peel off number bit of the tracking label, or gotten a lodgement receipt from handing it over at the counter. (Just mentioning this in case there's a way for you to track down the number).

There's also the possibility that the seller didn't actually receive the parcel, I'm not saying it's the most likely scenario, just that it is possible - did the seller know you didn't get or retain a tracking number? Otherwise it would seem like they'd presume you could check any tracking that might be available, and unfortunately without being able to access a tracking number, you'll never know - this is kind of one of my fears, to be honest (as a seller, I mean), a buyer returning an item without tracking and me never receiving it. I mean, I'm held responsible if a buyer doesn't receive the item(s) I send them, and even though - as someone who has been held responsible for items not received many times - I understand the frustration, I kinda don't want to be held responsible for me not receiving something a buyer sends as well, though I have a sneaking suspicion many would expect me to be.

[mattldsx]

One thing I'm confused by is the advice that I should have opened a dispute.

This was the first thing I did.

Through the dispute process I was directed to return the item, given an address to send to and told it was my responsibility to arrange the return. The seller would then refund the item and postage costs after they recieved the item and if they agreed that it was faulty.

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@mattldsx wrote:

One thing I'm confused by is the advice that I should have opened a dispute.

This was the first thing I did.

Through the dispute process I was directed to return the item, given an address to send to and told it was my responsibility to arrange the return. The seller would then refund the item and postage costs after they recieved the item and if they agreed that it was faulty.

---

Why are you confused by the advice? You made no mention of opening a dispute in your original post. You mentioned contacting the seller. We are not mind readers. Find the receipt you got from the PO and check the tracking number on it.

[digital*ghost]

---

@mattldsx wrote:

One thing I'm confused by is the advice that I should have opened a dispute.

This was the first thing I did.

Through the dispute process I was directed to return the item, given an address to send to and told it was my responsibility to arrange the return. 

---

Does eBay not also indicate the requirement for a tracking number? (I haven't opened a return request as a buyer, so don't know what you see or the info on the request pages etc, but it's relatively clear in other places). 

I'm sure you're more than aware of the error made, but the reality is that if an item is returned via a request, if the seller doesn't acknolwedge receipt (assuming they did indeed receive it), you need to be able to prove you sent it. If you can't do that, there's not really a lot eBay can do, and chances are the request will close in the seller's favour, and the FB removed sooner or later, as that's what usually happens. 

[mattldsx]

I see the feedback is still there, I was sure it had gone.

I only asked about the dispute process as people kept asking me why I didn't open a dispute.

Yes, it's my fault for not holding on to the tracking number. Yes I am aware I was supposed to have done that. I messed the process up and there's really nothing I can do.

Whether the item was genuinely lost in the post or what may have happened doesn't really matter. The item and the money is gone and most likely eBay will eventually remove the feedback. Oh well then.

Thanks everyone.

[lyndal1838]

Oh for goodness sake....have you read the suggestions given for ways of finding the tracking number?

If you don't want help to possibly get your money back why did you come here in the first place?